News on Child marriage

ABUJA, Nigeria – “I am proud to be a girl.” These were the bold closing words of a drama performed by 15 girls for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and UNFPA’s Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, in... Read more

NIAMEY, Niger – Barira Harouna, 16, is unlike any of other girl in her village, Bargaja, in Niger’s Maradi Region. At only 2 years old, she was paralyzed by polio. Two years later, her father died. Her mother soon... Read more

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – “I used to tell young people to stand up for their ideas,” said Tiana Razafinimanana, in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Today, she is not only helping the country’s young people... Read more

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Fatima Abdi Ali, 21, belongs to a very small minority of game-changers: young women activists pushing for progress in Somalia.
Somalia’s youth face an uphill struggle. More than 75 per cent of the... Read more

MOKOLO, Cameroon – Conditions are often harrowing for women and girls in Cameroon’s Far North Region. Violence, child marriage and maternal death are all too familiar experiences in this part of the country.
But these... Read more

MADHYA PRADESH/RAJASTHAN, India – “I was 16 and never missed a day at school,” recalled Komal, who was forced to drop out of school and become a child bride. “I had to leave it all as my parents had bartered me for a... Read more

Mangochi, Malawi – In 2010, when Sophie was just 13 years old, her elder sister suddenly and tragically died. Sophie’s world was shattered: She was forced to drop out of school and return home to care for her six... Read more

ERBIL, Iraq – When 39-year-old Asma crossed the border from Syria into Iraq, all she could think about was the son she was leaving behind.
“It was the worst day of my life – worse than all the shooting and attacks in... Read more